An air conditioner for an automobile is an apparatus for cooling or heating an interior of the automobile by heating or cooling air in a process of introducing external air into the interior of the automobile or circulating air of the interior of the automobile.
More specifically, the air conditioner for an automobile is configured to include an air conditioning case provided with a face vent, a defrost vent, and a floor vent each having an open degree controlled by the respective doors; a blowing unit connected to an inlet of the air conditioning case to blow external air; an evaporator and a heater core provided in the air conditioning case; and a temp-door controlling open degrees of a cool air passage and a warm air passage in the air conditioning case.
Meanwhile, a perfume generating apparatus for further improving pleasantness of a passenger in an automobile has been suggested in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 1994-032126 (entitled “Perfume Generating Apparatus for Automobile”), which is shown in FIG. 1.
The perfume generating apparatus 1 for an automobile is applied to an air conditioner 2 for an automobile including a blowing duct 3 inducing the blowing air to the respective vents 12, 13, and 14 having an open degree controlled by the respective doors 12d, 13d, and 14d and being in communication with an interior of the automobile; a blowing part 4 provided in the blowing duct 3; and an evaporator 5 and a heater core 6 provided in the blowing duct 3, and is configured to include a first communication passage 18 connected to a lower portion of the blowing part 4 in the blowing duct 3; a second communication passage 19 connected to a lower portion of the heater core 6; perfume containers 15, 16, and 17 provided between the first and second communication passages 18 and 19 and having a perfume received therein; and a controlling part 25 including control valves 21, 22, 23, and 24 to control the supply of a perfume component in the perfume containers 15, 16, and 17.
The perfume generating apparatus for an automobile has an advantage in that the perfume component may be sprayed into the blowing duct, be mixed with air through the blowing part, and be then supplied to the respective vents.
However, in the perfume generating apparatus for an automobile, the second communication passage sprays the perfume component at the lower portion of the heater core, such that there is the possibility that the perfume component will move to the defrost vent or the floor vent, which may cause deterioration of perfume performance.
Further, the air conditioner for an automobile generally includes a face vent formed in a width direction of the automobile so as to discharge air to the entire driver seat and passenger seat. In this configuration, the air is discharged through a plurality of extracting parts. However, it is difficult for the perfume generating apparatus for an automobile shown in FIG. 1 to uniformly supply the perfume component to the plurality of extracting parts.
Further, in the perfume generating apparatus for an automobile described above, the second communication passage discharges the perfume component in the air conditioning case, and the discharged perfume component is mixed with the air and then discharged into the interior of the automobile. However, in the perfume generating apparatus for an automobile described above, there is a difference in perfume strength according a blowing degree and an operation state of the door. Particularly, perfume strength of the perfume component discharged through the plurality of extracting parts of the face vent is not entirely uniform.